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SAN MATEO, February 15, 2018 / PRNewswire/ – According to the National Retail Federation, more than 55 percent of Americans celebrated Valentine’s Day this year, spending over $19.6 billion on loved ones. Rakuten Marketing, a leading technology company that enables brands to increase sales through data-driven performance marketing, and Rakuten.com, a leading marketplace with a mission to deliver an outstanding shopping experience and offer a broad selection of products to discover and purchase, together released online 2018 Valentine’s Day shopping data, trends and insights.

Rakuten Marketing and Rakuten.com data show U.S. shoppers spent big this Valentine’s Day. Jewelry topped this list of most purchased products, with year-over-year (YOY) online sales revenue increasing by 32 percent. The NRF estimates consumer spend on jewelry, on and offline, will top $4.7 billion, followed by $3.7 billion spent on an evening out, $2 billion on flowers, $1.9 billion on clothing and $1.8 billion on candy. Rakuten Marketing data also shows online sales growth for candy and clothing continued to accelerate, with YOY revenue up 20 and 15 percent respectively. Rakuten.com indicates the top five accessories consumers purchased this Valentine’s Day include watches (56 percent), rings (11 percent), pendants (17 percent), tennis bracelets (11 percent) and necklace chains (4 percent). Surprisingly, Valentine’s Day didn’t compete with Christmas when it comes to engagement ring sales, with January 2018 sales declining 95% over the month of December 2017.

“Valentine’s Day marks one of the top five retail selling periods and from our data, it is a period that continues to grow,“ stated Cynthia Lee, VP of Merchandising and Sales for Rakuten.com. “Our YOY data show the most popular products are consistently following consumer fashion trends. In 2017 stud and dangle earrings were leaders in jewelry sales over the Valentine’s Day selling period. In 2018 this shifted to watches, pendants, and tennis bracelets. In analyzing these patterns it’s important for advertisers to stay a step ahead of these trends and reference and activate consumer and product data to create exceptional shopping experiences that deliver high ROI.”

The peak Valentine’s shopping day between February 1 and February 14, 2018 was February 9 – the Friday before Valentine’s Day, also the peak shopping day in 2017. On that day, consumers spent the most on flower arrangements, jewelry and personalized gifts. February 13 was also a peak revenue day in 2017 and 2018.

Rakuten Marketing retail insights compared the weekend preceding Valentine’s Day (February 9 – 11, 2018) to the same weekend in 2017 (February 10 – 12). Over this period, YOY desktop and mobile sales conversions increased by 34 percent and 79 percent respectively. Just like the holiday selling season, consumers are shopping through both online channels to search and purchase. This year sales revenue increased across both platforms, with desktop up 38 percent and mobile up 80 percent, indicating that mobile is quickly becoming the dominant touchpoint for online shoppers.

Rakuten Marketing SVP of Marketing, Danny Kourianos stated, “Increasingly, data is shining a light on ever changing consumer behavior, and it’s more critical than ever that marketers take time to research where, when and how their consumers are shopping. Consequently, marketers must execute a highly synergistic online and offline strategy that prioritizes the consumer experience and delivers ads that effectively move consumers to purchase regardless of channel.”

Rakuten Marketing Retail Insights are based on aggregated and anonymous data analyzed from leading U.S. retailers running Rakuten Marketing Display and Rakuten Marketing Affiliate campaigns. All data is based on clients that specialize in fashion and apparel, jewelry, flowers, cards and stationary, and food and drink. Rakuten.com insights are based on aggregated and anonymous data from Rakuten.com transactions. For more information about Rakuten Marketing, visit https://rakutenmarketing.com; for more information about Rakuten.com, visit https://www.rakuten.com.

About Rakuten Marketing

Rakuten Marketing industry leading solutions empower marketers to thrive in their evolved role and achieve the full potential of digital marketing, efficiently and effectively, with data-informed insights that create consistent, engaging and influential experiences across screens. Offering an integrated solution, along with unique insights and consultative partnerships, Rakuten Marketing delivers the tools that marketers need to increase efficiency, productivity and performance.

Rakuten Marketing is a division of Rakuten Inc. (4755: TOKYO), one of the world’s leading Internet service companies. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in Australia, Brazil, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and throughout the United States. Follow us on Twitter or learn more at https://rakutenmarketing.com.